Ingrid Heÿdenrÿch
What the Stellies Rage posts will look like this year.
With a new year comes new challenges and conversations happening on campus.
There are a few prominent issues that will be sure to create a debate amongst students. Of course, fees and the debate around it won’t die down just because Zuma made a surprise announcement over the holidays. The sustainabilty of the model that is currently being followed, as well as the debate surrounding who should be studying for free will surely be a contentious issue on campus.
The education for all versus education for the poor debate will continue to be a sore point for many.
KuKo (Kultuur Komitee), the culture committee of the SRC, has also cut ties with the ATKV (Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurverening). They did this without consulting the rest of campus first, merely sending a WhatsApp to culture HK’s of the different residences. Whether campus will have an issue with this or if they will let it slide is still yet to be seen.
The language debate seems to have settled down for now, with SU’s new language policy being finally approved late last year. Throughout the year it will become apparent whether SU is completely binded to their new policy, or if it is merely a stand-in for any new policies that might be simmering at the back of the RMT’s minds.
Residences will also undergo scrutiny this year. It has become clear that without legitimate justifications for events and practises in residences, “residence culture” will soon undergo radical changes.
All of this will of course be overshadowed if Stellenbosch finally hits Day Zero. It seems like to university has no concrete contingency plans in place for if this day arrives. Whenever asked what their plans are, the university merely refers to the water crisis division of their website. Yet, on this website, there are no clear plans.
Even though it is, of course, important to save water and to raise awareness, people want to know what will happen when the water is gone. Saying that the university has a task team working on the matter also isn’t very reassuring, since this task team has presented no plans since they were originally formed.
At the end of the day, among all the controversy and issues on campus, it is important to remember to be a student and have a life. Yes, it is important to stay informed, make your voice known and stand up for what you believe in, but make sure to not do this at the cost of the people around you.
Most importantly, don’t let the things that you are unhappy about take over your life. There are new things to worry and talk about every day, but most people only get one shot at a university life and a degree, do not let it go to waste.
En onthou, as jy wonder daaroor, moet jy dit tien teen een nie doen nie.
